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2017 (18) Pre-season Schedule

Looks like the boys are back in Everett for their annual preseason tourney this weekend - starting tomorrow. If you've never gone down to watch the preseason there you should. Nothing like seeing 9 games in three days to get the hockey juices flowing. I missed all of camp this year, anyone see any notable up-and-comers?

I was hoping to see you at the camp this year. I managed to make it out to all 4 days. I must say that I was quite impressed with the youngsters. There are some good ones in the pipeline. Here are some of the young guns that stood out for me.

02's:
Justin Sourdif (signed), Tanner Brown (signed), Cole Shepard, Jacob Gendron (signed), John Little, Alec Saretzky, Braedy Euerby, Krz Plummer (signed)
This is the best draft group that I have seen from the Giants. I was lucky enough to have seen 3 of the prospects (Sourdif, Shepard, Gendron) at the Pat Quinn tournament last year and was hoping the Giants would take them in the draft as they really stood out for me. They certainly didn't disappoint. This year the rookies were mixed in with the vets and all the picks did not look out of place at all. Sourdif would have no problem playing this year. Brown looks to be a solid 2 way defender. Shepard was a buzzsaw although he was gone after 2 days. Not sure if he was injured or just keeping his college options open. Gendron has come a long way in a short time. I really liked his raw potential at the Quinn tournament and I can see him in the dub in a couple of seasons. Little kept catching my eye. Saretzky is on the small side but looks like a playmaker. Euerby has good size and showed that he might have a future in the net. Plummer also has size and showed some good potential.

01's
Bowen Byram (signed), Trent Miner (signed), Aidan Barfoot (signed), Evan Patrician (signed) Parker Hendren*(signed)
The 01's in my opinion were overshadowed by the 02 class. However, along with Sourdif, Byram is definitely one to watch. I'll go on record to say that he will play for Canada in the World Juniors in the next few years. He is still prone to a few mistakes but he is as dynamic as they come on D. I also really like Miner but he is in tough to make the squad this season with the way the numbers play out. The others, including some I didn't list, have potential but I don't see them making the club this year. Harrison Blaisdell, who didn't come to camp, would be an excellent signing if they can convince him to come in the future.

00's
Tyler Popowich, Alex Kannok-Leipert, Kaleb Bulych, Tyler Ho, Austin King-Cunningham, Cyle McNabb, Todd Scott, Hunor Torzsok, Jacob Wassermann*(all signed)
This is the group that really needs to step it up. There are spots on the team for them but not for all of them unless they up their game. Popowich has all the tools but still needs to play with more passion. Kannok-Leipert did really well in his limited time last season and probably earned a spot. Of the forward group, the one that really looked like he wanted a spot was Ho. I wasn't all that impressed last season but he changed my mind. He was constantly buzzing around and trying to make things happen when he had the puck. King-Cunningham and Bulych could be in a good battle to make the team. Both are big rugged D. It would be nice to see both of them make it but there is likely only room for one unless something changes. McNabb and Torzsok are also similar players. Both will be trying to earn a spot on the 4th line. I think Scott may have an inside track on the backup job to Kubic. However, the goalies all are pretty close so it may come down to who can bring back a good left shot defenseman in a trade.

Of all the other players in camp that made an impression, the biggest one was made by Malm. This kid just keeps getting better and better. His weaknesses have been his size and speed but he looks faster and stronger this year. You could also tell that Ronning is focused on "the show". Selfishly, I hope that we are able to watch him one more season with the Giants. Plouffe was the best defenseman in camp. Barbaris and Skeoch also stood out. And I almost forgot. Milos Roman started slow but was the best player in the prospects game albeit vs younger players. He has a lot of skill that he combines with a solid all around game.

All in all, I think this may be a season that you might want to watch Dondo.

Everett Preseason Tourney

We have been attending the Everett tournament for 14 years which we've enjoyed immensely. We were so glad to see the Giants attend for three games and hope they'll join again next year. Last year they played only one game and for many years prior they didn't come to the tournament at all which we suspected was due to the border traffic on the Labour Day weekend.

For the most part the team looked ready for action and looked much better than they did last season. We were impressed with the hard work of some of the rookies including the young goalie Scott. Ty Ronning scored a hat trick in the last game which the Giants won 5-4 in overtime. Great way to end the tournament.

Thanks for that vzone - might have to shelf some bitterness and give them a chance again, but they have been breaking my heart for too many years to let it all go.

As for the Everett tourney, I was disappointed when they stopped attending (that's when I stopped going down there after a few years of attending every year) and then only playing one game, so it makes me happy to hear they are playing three games there again. One of the best parts of that tourney are the other WHL fans, mainly US teams, but they know the game (other than Everett fans of course - ;P ) and have a good sense of their team and how they fit into the mix. I recall when Portland was by far the worst team in the league that their fans kept their sense of humour and hope for better ownership/management - which they finally got and made it count - I still want to see Toigo sell the team to a local group (maybe even the Canucks group - ala Calgary and Edmonton) as he's lost all perspective always believes we are contenders (when we are so not) and is just dragging the team down.